Knights Give Back has become a UCF tradition for students, faculty and staff to come together for a campuswide day of service. With approximately 500 participants, Knights Give Back gave over 2,000 hours to the Central Florida community. The event began by everyone arriving at 8 a.m. on October 10 at UCF’s Memory Mall for check-in. From there, they went on designated busses which took them to their event.
Students, faculty and staff went to organizations such as Greyhound Pets of America, where they cleaned the area that housed the dogs; washed muzzles and collars; spent time with the greyhounds; and toured the facility. Another group worked with Seminole County Lake Management, where they planted native plants and removed invasive plants at Spring Lake. Other service sites included: A Gift for Teaching, Give Kids the World, Quest’s Camp Thunderbird, Society of St. Andrew, and the Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens.
The participants at each site ranged from 12 to 85 volunteers depending on the needs of the organization they were working with. Alumni, faculty, staff, student organizations as well as students participated in this event. Upon the return of all the busses, the Office of Student Involvement’s Volunteer UCF hosted an event, “Give Back Bash,” in which all participants enjoyed pizza and drinks, and listened to music provided by the Knight-Cast DJ.
“Knights Give Back is a short-term commitment with a long-term impact,” commented Volunteer UCF Student Director Jessica Schwendeman. Volunteer UCF staff stated they were proud of the Knights Give Back event, and hopes to see it grow in years to come.
The Office of Student Involvement is in the Division of Student Development and Enrollment Services.
